Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Christ Jesus, the true pearl of great price

As the precious pearl lies hid within the humble shell,so too the divinity of Christ is veiled by his humanity

17th Sunday in
Ordinary Time, Matthew 13:44-52

The kingdom of heaven is
like a merchant searching for fine pearls. When he finds a pearl of great
price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it.

In
the Gospel for this Sunday, our Savior begins with two parables: That of the
treasure hidden in the field and that of the pearl of great price. “In these
two parables Jesus shows the supreme value of the Kingdom of heaven, and the
attitude people need if they are to attain it. The parables are very alike, but
it is interesting to note the differences: the treasure means abundance of
gifts; the pearl indicates the beauty of the Kingdom. The treasure is something
stumbled upon; the pearl, the result of a lengthy search; but in both instances
the finder is filled with joy.” (from the Navarre Bible Commentary)

As the Church has meditated on the “Parables
of the Kingdom” – that is, the parables found in Matthew 13:1-52 (those of the
sower, of the weeds, of the mustard seed, of the leaven, of the hidden
treasure, of the pearl of great price, and of the net which caught many fish) –
she has come to understand these to reveal not only the nature of the Kingdom
and of the Church, but also of the person of Jesus. Our Savior is himself the
Kingdom of heaven, just as the Church is his mystical body.

Christ
Jesus is himself that pearl of great price.

Fr. Cornelius a’ Lapide
comments on Christ as the pearl

“The chief and
most precious pearl of all, from which all virtues and all the Saints, like
pearls are sprung, and from which they derive their beauty and their value, is
Christ Himself. For His Deity in His Humanity is as a pearl hid in a shell. It
issued forth of the substance of the Virgin, and the dew of the Spirit, most
white, through innocence of life. It was exceeding bright through wisdom; round
through the possession of all perfection; having the weight of conscience, the
smoothness of meekness, the price of blessedness. For says Pliny, ‘The value of
pearls consists in whiteness, size, rotundity, smoothness and weight.’

“Hear what S.
Augustine says, ‘In the beginning was the
Word and the Word was with God: for the Word of the Lord shines with the
brightness of truth, and is solid with the firmness of eternity, and is every
where alike with the beauty of Divinity: when the shell of the flesh is pierced
through, God may be perceived.’

“This pearl of
Christ, says our Salmeron, is small by humility, but precious in value. Let us
bear it on the head of our mind by way of ornament; on our forehead by
confessing the faith; in our ears by obedience to the Law, obedience rendered
to God in Himself, and our Superiors; on our necks and breasts by love; on our arms
by the exercise of good works; in rings on our hands by the gift of discerning
spirits; in our girdles by chastity; on our garments by modesty and holy
devotion to eternal life; but we ourselves also may become precious pearls, and
by this means may induce others to imitate the most holy life of our Lord Jesus
Christ.

“Finally Christ
is not only a very precious pearl, but He is also the gem of gems. He is a
carbuncle, because He is the light of the world. He is an emerald because He
delights the angels by the verdure of His grace. He is strong and invincible as
a diamond. He produces joy as a sardius. He heals the leprosy of sin as a
chrysoprasus. He assists the bringing forth of good works as a spiritual
jasper; He sharpens the intellect as a beryl; He has celestial colour and life,
as a sapphire; He resists sleep and drunkenness, as an amethyst; and all the
infirmities of the mind, as a hyacinth; He sustained the worry of the passions,
as a topaz: He is a sardonyx in brightness and splendour; He is a chrysolite in
His golden charity.

“Whence the
foundations of the heavenly Jerusalem are laid with these twelve precious
stones, which signify the twelve Apostles of Christ.”

Dismas...go look up the many references in the Old Testament where carbuncle is referenced as a gemstone...Isaiah, Ezekiel,Exodus. Is a gem in Sherlock Holmes stories. In fact in Isaiah, the use refers to the largesse and free flowing blessings of the Lord: And I will make thy windows of agate, they gates of carbuncles, and all they borders of pleasant stones (see Isaiah 52:12).

A carbuncle in ancient usage referred to a red garnet.

Next time, check sources before critiquing.

I did think the picture was a little too violent as an introduction to the subject matter. Most of us undoubtedly think of pearls in the abstract...at the jewelry counter, for example.

I did particularly enjoy the entire passage where so many attributes of our Savior are compared to the unique attributes of each precious stone. There are specific tie-ins to the unique traits of each of the listed minerals/gems and the attributes of Christ. Very poetic portrayal.

Emmanuel, the Savior, is indeed the pearl of great price, and as the Alchemists describe their "egg" of immortality as a rather round to oval pearl colored substance by reducing the duality of being their "metals" back into the singularity of original wholeness. As I understand it.

“Whence the foundations of the heavenly Jerusalem are laid with these twelve precious stones, which signify the twelve Apostles of Christ.” Fr. Cornelius.

That view seems to contrast that of other sources which describe the twelve stones as representing the twelve TRIBES - which seem to be more in keeping with the idea of the twelve signs of the zodiac. Jesus himself once asked, " how is it that you know the stars and seasons but you do not know the times. And I see the "times" as those migrations of being born with the characteristics assigned to the "stones", or shall we say tribes - or maybe dispositions. Eventually our rough and multiple incarnations will be made smooth as the pearl of immortality. Then we will have put on our Christ identity, even as Father, as those days end and a new cycle begins.